Democratic Republic of the Congo / Rwanda Earthquake

At least 42 people have died in Rwanda's
Western Province (37) and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
city of Bukavu (5), following a powerful series of earthquakes registering
6.0 and 5.0 on the Richter scale. The quake hit the border area between
the two countries on Sunday, February 3.

Action by Churches Together (ACT) International
forum members in the eastern part of the DRC, reported that at least 250
people were severely injured in Bukavu, with the majority injuries having
occurred when a church they were praying in collapsed. In Rwanda, 500 people
were seriously injured in Nyamaseke, a city neighbouring Bukavu.

The forum, ACT Pool Oriental, are: the
Ecumenical Office for Support to Development/Bureau Oecuménique d'Appui
au Développement (BOAD), Christian Aid, Norwegian Church Aid, DanChurchAid,
Eglise du Christ au Congo (ECC) in South Kivu, North Kivu, Province-Orientale
and Maniema, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Congo (ELCC) and the Lutheran
World Federation (LWF).

Based on the forum's preliminary assessment
in the affected areas in the DRC, about 1,500 residential and public buildings
including 15 schools were destroyed by the earthquake. Due to a fear of
aftershocks, people whose houses developed cracks have been advised to
stay out of their homes for the next few days.

Earthquakes are common in the Africa's
western Great Rift Valley-a seismically active fault line straddling western
Uganda, eastern DRC, Rwanda and neighbouring Tanzania.

The situation in DRC is beyond the local
organisations' capacity to respond and representatives from the national
government have pledged some assistance. In Kivu for instance, the national
Members of Parliament are collecting relief funds. The World Health Organisation
(WHO) is providing medical assistance to those injured, and families are
sharing the little they have with those affected by the quake.

The ACT forum members plan to assist
those left homeless and those who have been injured-in particular children,
the elderly and pregnant and lactating women. The forum is also working
on submitting a request for USD 50,000 from the ACT Rapid Response Fund
(RRF) to assist those affected by the quake in Bukavu and its surrounding
areas. The forum members plan to provide plastic sheets, clothing, blankets,
mattresses and iron roofs with the rapid response funds and are considering
submitting a proposal of response for an ACT appeal.

The members of the ACT forum will not
be responding to the situation in Rwanda, as the affected areas are not
within their operational zones. In addition, other international NGOs (INGOs)
which are presently working in the affected areas have already started
providing assistance. The ACT forum in the DRC is however in close contact
with these organizations for information on assessments, with the view
to assisting should there be gaps in the response.

ACT member Norwegian Church Aid has indicated
that it will assist vulnerable groups with blankets and other emergency
items, and will help with repairs of schools and houses and local hospitals
if needed.

Any funding indication or pledge should
be communicated to Jessie Kgoroeadira, ACT Finance Officer (jkg@act-intl.org).